WASHINGTON, Jan 8: The United States said on Wednesday it was deploying B-1 bombers in the Gulf as part of its military buildup against Iraq.

The US Central Command (Centcom) is also sending much of its battle staff to a Gulf base. The staff would be equipped to coordinate a large-scale land, sea and air invasion.

The Centcom would oversee the war if Washington launches its much-talked about military offensive against Iraq.

In Washington, several major American television networks said B-1 bombers at the Ellsworth air force base, in South Dakota, worked through the night, loading gear and equipment for their expected deployment at a base in Oman.

Thousands of more army soldiers from Fort Benning, Georgia, have also been deploying this week, the NBC News said.

The network said some 350 soldiers from the an infantry division had left for training exercises in Kuwait on Tuesday. The base is expected to see four daily deployments over the next few weeks as 11,000 troops ship out, joining 4,800 other troops already in Kuwait.

Joining the additional ground forces and pilots are senior US military command staff setting up offices at a secret base in Qatar.

A senior official said the movement of Central Command battle planners, which began this week, does not mean that war against Iraq is imminent or inevitable. The official said the move is a necessary step to prepare the military in case President Bush gives the go-ahead.

Jim Wilkinson, the Central Command director of strategic communications, confirmed the decision to send staff to the As Sayliyah base, but he declined to provide details on when they would arrive or in what numbers.

“Central Command continues to cycle personnel into and out of the region,” Wilkinson said. “We refuse to discuss deployments in advance. However, you can expect to see continuing deployments to Qatar and elsewhere in support of ongoing diplomatic activities.”

Last month, the commander of the US Central Command, Gen Tommy Franks, oversaw an extensive computer-based exercise at As Sayliyah that many viewed as a tune-up for an invasion of Iraq.

Franks said the exercise verified technologies that would enable him to coordinate with air, ground and naval commanders in the region.

Franks and his battle staff returned to their permanent headquarters in Tampa, Florida, before Christmas.

Later this month, most of the same battle staff will be back at As Sayliyah, a desert encampment with newly designed command posts hidden inside enormous warehouses near the Qatari capital of Doha.